Kurakado Sanae, Arai Rika, Sugita Takashi
Department of Microbiology, Meiji Pharmaceutical University, 2-522-1 Noshio, Kiyose, Tokyo, 204-8588, Japan.
Microbiol Immunol. 2018 Jun;62(6):405-410. doi: 10.1111/1348-0421.12596.
Bloodstream infection by the pathogenic fungus Candida albicans is a major health problem. Candidemia is often associated with medical devices, which can act as substrates for biofilm development. Biofilm-related infections are relatively difficult to treat because of their resistance to antimicrobial agents. It is therefore important to explore the mechanisms of biofilm formation. Dimorphism is a major contributor to biofilm formation in C. albicans. To determine whether the hypha-related proteins Pra1 (pH-regulated antigen) and Zrt1 (zinc transporter) are responsible for biofilm formation, the ability of pra1 and zrt1 deletion mutants to form biofilms was investigated. Biofilm formation by both deletion mutants was less than that of the wild-type strain. Because Pra1 and Zrt1 are also related to the zinc homeostasis system, the effects of adding zinc on biofilm formation were also examined. Biofilm formation was increased in the presence of zinc. These data suggest that Pra1 and Zrt1 regulate biofilm formation through zinc homeostasis.
致病性真菌白色念珠菌引起的血流感染是一个重大的健康问题。念珠菌血症通常与医疗设备有关，这些设备可作为生物膜形成的底物。与生物膜相关的感染相对难以治疗，因为它们对抗菌剂具有抗性。因此，探索生物膜形成的机制很重要。二态性是白色念珠菌生物膜形成的主要因素。为了确定与菌丝相关的蛋白Pra1（pH调节抗原）和Zrt1（锌转运蛋白）是否负责生物膜形成，研究了pra1和zrt1缺失突变体形成生物膜的能力。两个缺失突变体的生物膜形成均少于野生型菌株。由于Pra1和Zrt1也与锌稳态系统有关，因此还研究了添加锌对生物膜形成的影响。在有锌的情况下生物膜形成增加。这些数据表明，Pra1和Zrt1通过锌稳态调节生物膜形成。
